The marimba softly played, its sound like water droplets falling onto stone. The old music box in the attic emitted a slightly distorted melody, the kind that was popular many years ago.
The song was soothing and filled with nostalgia, like a blurry figure disappearing into the sunset, perhaps once remembered as the best playmate, but whose face and name were now forgotten.
Gu Qianlou sat quietly in this attic, a place he hadn’t visited in years, gazing at the familiar surroundings, remembering some past events. Back then, he was young and impulsive, dreaming of changing much, of overthrowing those adults and seniors he didn’t like.
However, he never did. As he grew, he learned about the difficulties inherent in every action, and that merely maintaining the present seemed difficult enough.
Gradually, he became like the adults he once disliked, but he did not regret it.
As a young person, he had only seen a small corner of the world and thought that was everything. Some of his boastful words, as he aged, became less frequent, no longer uttered.
His sister was kind and innocent, with a mix of genuine cuteness and craftiness. She used to fantasize about beautiful things and would believe in strangers, even those she had never met.
She used to sit in this attic, which was their secret base, a place to keep books, movies, games, and those novel things brought by travelers. They were always new and exciting, making it hard to let go.
But that time has long passed.
As he grew older and gained more experience, he could no longer relate to those flawed stories, the bizarre plots created for dramatic effect. Even movies that moved others to tears now seemed exaggerated and childish to him.
Life forced him to grow, and with it, the freshness and excitement faded. He focused on various affairs and drifted further from his sister, until she truly brought up her thoughts in front of him.
He understood that this longing was shared by many in the city, but such a dream, without a plan or a realistic foundation, would only lead to pain. He explained this to her, but sadly, ‘hope’ is the sweetest poison, tempting those with fantasies to walk step by step into the abyss.
His sister almost died in the turmoil. Afterwards, he vaguely sensed her movements and ultimately let her go.
“Just leave on your own. To the outside world, you’re dead. And it’s better if you never come back.” A little cruelty was good; this way, he wouldn’t always be saddened and could focus on more important matters.
He had slowly gotten used to everything and forgotten about that figure.
… Until the girl, so familiar, appeared.
“Your daughter is just as true and stubborn as you,” he said, picking up a photo frame from the table. Inside, there was a picture of a brother and sister, about thirteen or fourteen years old. The brother was grinning broadly, while the sister wore a sun hat, and they stood together in the sunlight.
Dust floated in the attic as the distorted music box played to its end, and the room fell silent.
A faint sound of footsteps came from the stairs behind him. The old wooden steps creaked as they shook, and the rusted nails caused a squeaky sound.
The attic door creaked open, and a black-haired girl walked in, looking at the figure sitting at the table.
“Uncle…” The title sounded so unfamiliar, and after calling out, the girl wasn’t sure how to continue.
There was a brief silence in the room before the figure stood up.
“Mm.” The response was soft and low, barely audible in the quiet room.
Neither of them was very talkative, so they just silently looked at each other. Finally, Hestia lowered her head slightly, as her mother had taught her that it was impolite to stare at someone continuously.
“Where is Yongrong buried?”
“The cemetery… at the G19 cemetery in the lower levels of Arpeggio City.” The girl answered softly before suddenly remembering something.
“How did you know about her…” Her voice trailed off.
“Hmph. If she were alive and well, why would you be here alone?” Although many years had passed, Gu Qianlou still understood his sister’s personality well.
He shook his head and stopped thinking about the past. He walked past Hestia and began descending the stairs. There were still many things waiting for him to handle.
With the support of the T2 AI from Edess Academy, everything was slowly changing. Building a new city was difficult, but at least there was a foundation to build on.
With the advanced AI’s detailed analysis and planning, as long as it was provided with enough machinery and materials, it could gradually complete the city’s construction. The systems for water supply, transportation, logistics, energy, sanitation, and others would be much more efficient with AI management, greatly reducing construction and operational costs.
If the people of Thousand Towers City were to try to complete these tasks on their own, it would be like primitive people trying to navigate a modern city, spending huge amounts of resources to build each framework, requiring extensive administrative manpower, and making constant mistakes, leading to corruption and inefficiency. It would be impossible to build a city that meets modern standards.
‘Spiral Fish’ was an old model, sufficient for maintaining Thousand Towers City, but too outdated to establish a new city. Its self-destruction was only a few years away, and it was an illegal AI, hidden deep under Thousand Towers City. The Federation turned a blind eye, but if it were brought to the outside, it would be an outright challenge to the rules.
Although Hestia’s words had some truth, she had brought the foundation capable of changing Thousand Towers City, and everything had become entirely different.
After the girl obtained the Cleansing Ink Sword, the entire Thousand Towers City quieted down. The people submitted to the ancient, faith-representing sword, and soon after, a supersonic transport plane arrived, bringing a solid material foundation that instilled true confidence.
The root of the conflict disappeared without a trace. For such a situation, Gu Qianlou had no response. Perhaps his insistence wasn’t wrong, but the changes in the world were too unexpected. Who could have believed that such a young and fragile girl could truly change the thoughts of the Star Region government?
For hundreds of years, the nearly one million residents of Thousand Towers City had longed for something like this, and yet, it had been achieved so easily. It felt like an unreal dream. Perhaps this was the way the world is—uneven.
Walking down the attic, Gu Qianlou led the excited and eager crowd to the ground, where they would stand in the Red Pavilion and deliver a speech that would change everything.
“On July 10th, 658 of the Sixth Epoch, our ancestors landed on this sparsely populated planet. They began to build settlements from scratch, and it has now been 593 years—nearly six hundred years.”
“Six hundred years is enough for a dynasty to rise, fall, and then rise and fall again.”
“We have stagnated here for too long, so long that we have slowly lost the courage to move forward again… Everything of the past is no longer support, it has become a heavy burden, hard to let go of…” His voice softened.
“It is time to let go of it all.”
“Whether it’s the ‘Divine Generals’ or the ‘Sword Guardians,’ let them sleep in the past of history. We no longer need to be fixated on these ancient terms.”
“This is not only my opinion but also the thoughts and suggestions of that child. We are fortunate to have waited for the coming of that destined bird.”
“The phoenix brings branches and builds a nation. In the future, we will also build a brand-new city on that land.”
“‘Starting from scratch, we will open up the mountains and forests.’ It will be hard, but we will no longer hesitate.”